Floyd Living Traditions Festival Outdoor Stage Lineup- 2025

Experience the Soul of the Blue Ridge at the Floyd Living Traditions Festival Outdoor Stage – Saturday, August 23!

Get ready for a full day of music that captures the heart and heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains! Join us at the Floyd Center for the Arts on Saturday, August 23, from 10 AM to 6 PM for the Floyd Living Traditions Festival—a free, family-friendly celebration of Appalachian music, craft, and community. Rain or shine, the music will play on!

Curated by our friends at The Handmade Music School, the Outdoor Stage Lineup brings together a powerhouse of tradition bearers, rising stars, and community favorites to honor the deep musical roots of Floyd and Central Appalachia.

Outdoor Stage Schedule 

10:00 AM – Little River Missionary Baptist Church Choir

The Handmade Music School and Floyd Center for the Arts are excited to welcome The Little River Missionary Baptist Church choir from right here in Floyd, Virginia. The Little River Missionary Baptist Church Choir sings heartwarming and uplifting traditional and contemporary gospel music that will get you up clapping your hands and stomping your feet while honoring and representing their deep commitment to their faith. 

11:00 AM – Tyler Hughes - The Crooked Road

Award winning old time musician Tyler Hughes has been performing and preserving the musical traditions of Central Appalachia since his teenage years. A multi-instrumentalist and square dance caller, Tyler also works as an educator sharing his knowledge at camps and workshops across the country. In 2015, Hughes graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies. Since graduating college he has toured at home and abroad in Europe. His latest release, "When the Light Shines Again" paints a musical timeline of the history of coal mining in the mountains of Appalachia. Tyler's banjo tunes and songs have been heard on PBS' Song of the Mountains, NPR's Mountain Stage, at Jazz at the Lincoln Center, the Grand Ole Opry, and at the historic Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia. 

12:00 PM – Handmade Music School Youth String Band

The Handmade Music School will demonstrate how they focus on the living traditions of music and dance in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Handmade Music School strives to cultivate and strengthen community through experiences in music, dance, art, and food rooted in our Appalachian traditions. HMS is dedicated to teaching old time, bluegrass, and traditional music and dances from Floyd County, Virginia and throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

The philosophy of The Handmade Music School is to “hand down” the songs and dances from the teacher to the student, phrase by phrase and step by step, the way it’s been taught in the Blue Ridge Mountains for centuries.

For almost four decades, the Floyd Country Store has been a place where the musical traditions of Appalachia have been enjoyed by audiences coming to the Friday Night Jamboree or shared at a jam session on Sunday afternoon. Now The Floyd Country Store through their partnership with The Handmade Music School will provide the opportunity to learn directly from these musicians and dancers so we can rest assured that we will all be enjoying these traditions for a long time!

1:15 PM – The Comptons: A Tribute to Randall Hylton

The Comptons are a beloved Floyd-based family bluegrass band who have become staples of the local music scene, regularly performing at The Floyd Country Store and other venues across Southwest Virginia. With deep roots in Appalachian traditions, they are known for their tight harmonies, spirited picking, and dedication to keeping regional songs and stories alive. For this year’s Floyd Living Traditions Festival, The Comptons will share a heartfelt tribute set honoring their dear friend and mentor, Randall Hylton—a local legend whose songwriting left a lasting mark on the bluegrass world.

Randall Hylton, born in Willis, VA, began playing guitar at age five and wrote his first hit as a teenager. Though he initially pursued a career in Nashville, it was the world of bluegrass where he found his true voice, eventually establishing his own publishing company, Greasy Creek Music. Over the years, Hylton wrote more than 250 songs—many of them now considered bluegrass standards—including Slippers With Wings, Room at the Top of the Stairs, and Gonna Be Movin’. His work was recorded by legends like Ralph Stanley, Doyle Lawson, The Lewis Family, The Bluegrass Cardinals, and many more. Known for his wit, warmth, and unmistakable songwriting style, Randall Hylton left a profound legacy. Through their performance, The Comptons honor not only his music but also the personal bond they shared—celebrating a homegrown voice that continues to inspire.

2:30 PM – Laura Boosinger & Mike Compton

Mike Compton is a Grammy and IBMA-winning mandolinist known for his mastery of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass style. A prolific performer and teacher, Compton has recorded with legends like Sting, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, and Dolly Parton, and contributed to the Grammy-winning O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

Laura Boosinger is a celebrated banjo player and tradition bearer of Appalachian music. A student of David Holt, she’s performed with the Luke Smathers Band and Josh Goforth, and has led shaped-note singing workshops at Merlefest and beyond. Her influence in Western North Carolina’s music scene is profound and lasting.

3:45 PM – Tribute to the Floyd County Ramblers

The Handmade Music School, Old Church Gallery and Floyd Center for the Arts are partnering to feature the music of legendary Floyd County string band, The Floyd County Ramblers. Originally featuring members Sam McNeil on banjo, Banks McNeil on fiddle, Walter Boone on harmonica and John Willie Boone on guitar. This project will feature George Slusher and Mac Traynham leading a group of local musicians through a tribute set. Old Church Gallery has curated exhibits of Floyd County’s musical traditions and will be sharing background on the Floyd County Ramblers, throughout the Living Traditions Festival.

5:00 PM – Up Jumped Trouble

Up Jumped Trouble is an old time stringband from southwest VA that blends Appalachian fiddle music with old folk and country songs. They bring a hard driving, old time sound that’s sure to get you out of your seat! Led by fiddler Raistliin Brabson, Up Jumped Trouble honors local traditions, specifically playing with a drive and powerful rhythm that gives the dancers what they are looking for while representing repertoire from right around Floyd County, Franklin County and over into West Virginia as well.

🪕 More Than Music

The festival features live craft demonstrations, hands-on activities, a community art project, delicious food, and fun for all ages. It’s the perfect day out in the mountains—and it’s all FREE!

💻 For the full festival schedule and details on our Friday Night Jamboree kickoff, visit:https://www.floydartcenter.org/floyd-living-traditions

Presented by Floyd Center for the Arts in partnership with Handmade Music School.

🎉 Special thanks to our sponsors:Skyline National Bank, Floyd Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Floored LLC, Town of Floyd, Virginia is for Lovers, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and Virginia Humanities.

This project is made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Come celebrate the music, makers, and mountain spirit of Floyd!